


Little by Little

by AllTrashNoClass



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, M/M, first fanfic, frisk isn't really a good kid in this, some gay shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-23 20:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7479153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTrashNoClass/pseuds/AllTrashNoClass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[HIATUS] Grillby has mostly lived a passive life. There wasn't too much to get upset or disheartened over. However, upon seeing his favorite regular in distress and finally having a possible reason as to why, he sets out to make his life as happy as possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> First Undertale fanfiction, so it's going to be short and simple. Chapters will be short since I don't plan on doing too much with this. It's mostly just for practice so I can see how well I can write these characters. Constructive criticism is always nice. I may change the rating or tags. It all depends on where this goes.

 It was safe to say that neither Grillby nor Sans were very good with expressing emotions.

Grillby was often quiet and contemplative, very subtle and thoughtful. He didn't appear to be depressed or upset. Grillby was more along the lines of shy. Reserved. Sans was another story. He seemed to be permanently stuck on one emotion, and while most people would assume this emotion was happy, Grillby had known the skeleton long enough to say it was something darker. Sure, Sans cracked jokes and smiled all day, but Grillby had seen times when Sans had faltered. Times when Sans had hesitated on a joke or a smile. There were times when Sans was just as quiet as he was, and just as subtle. No one else seemed to take much notice except for Papyrus, but that was to be expected. They are brothers, after all.

It worried Grillby, to say the least. It was a kind of worry that he hid, but it ate away at him every time the short skeleton walked into the bar. He had wanted to ask Sans so many times just what specifically had him so upset, but he would either decide against it or Sans would take notice that he was about to ask and leave before he had the chance. Every now and then, Sans would open up just a little, just enough for Grillby to get the tiniest peek at the problem. It was only when the smaller monster was either a little drunk or when it was late at night and no one else was around. He would always be vague and mention a “kid.” He would sometimes say something about his brother. He never went into detail, though. Never.

“i'm just sick of the kid.”

Grillby wiped down a perfectly clean glass as he listened to his best/worst customer talk. Sans slumped over the bar, one arm draped limply over his skull while the other stretched out over the surface. He tilted his head forward some, signaling to him that he was listening. “i can't understand them, or what they want. don't know why they think it's cool to mess with me like this.”

That was a little different. Grillby lowered the glass he'd been cleaning a bit, fingers still clasping it close to his form. Was Sans talking about a lover? He refers to them as a kid, so maybe not, but that was just a general term of affection anyway, right? With the way Sans is, he couldn't possibly see it being a bully. He wanted so bad to ask directly just who the “kid” was, but he knew Sans would leave if he even attempted. He would have to use his subtlety.

“Perhaps,” he started, voice rasped and crackling like fire. “they do not know what they want, either.”

Sans seemed to contemplate this for a moment, white pupils slightly dilated from being a little tipsy. His gaze was locked onto the liquor cabinet behind Grillby, on his own reflection in the glass. Another beat or two passed before he responded. “i always figured they were unhappy. i'm not even sure it's them doing it.” This really did seem like love problems. Grillby wasn't sure how to approach this any further. He had never been good with relationships. He honestly never had one that functioned properly, at least not to him. What's more, he never pegged Sans for the romantic type. Apparently from the skeleton's point of view, these troubles were his fault. That was how it sounded to him.

“Perhaps,” he started again, taking longer to mentally construct his sentence. “you should speak with them, and ask them?”  
  
“tried that. they never listen. they don't even care.”

Despite that ever-present grin on his face, Grillby could hear the venom in the skeleton's voice. He did a very good job at hiding it. The elemental was sure no one else would have been able to pick it up. Still, he held back a sigh. Whoever Sans was dating seemed to be rather distant with him, which was ironic, seeing as how Sans was often distant and walled off himself. He was certain that generic dating advice wouldn't cut it. It never really does, anyway. He was about to speak again when Sans beat him to it, the other's voice lower than usual.  
  
“they're killing me, little by little. every time.”  
  
Once again, Grillby ceased all movement and looked down to Sans, his expression more blank than usual. Sans seemed to immediately regret what he had said as if he'd just let the cat out of the bag, or given out half of a secret code. Something in the pit of Grillby's stomach dropped and tied itself into a tight knot. It made him feel sick. He watched as Sans straightened in his seat. As much as he could, anyway. “but they can do whatever they want, i guess. no skin off my bones, heh.” With that, Sans slipped down from his stool and shoved his hands into his pockets. He turned and took half a step towards the exit before Grillby called out to him.  
  
“Sans---”  
  
“put it on my tab, buddy. i'll get around to paying it off one of these days.”

Before Grillby could even dismiss the other's tab, Sans was gone, blinking out of sight and most likely home. The flame was left alone, in a stiff and uncomfortable silence that felt so empty and incomplete. It angered him, and it worried him. His flames seemed to droop a bit, decreasing in height and warmth. He set the glass and rag down, then gripped onto the edge of the counter with both hands, needing to steady himself. The only thing he could think of was Sans, and how his HP had decreased over the years. It had recently hit 1, a cripplingly low number for anyone. He didn't know much about the skeleton's personal life, but if he had been dating this person for a while, now...  
  
If this “kid” was the reason for his HP dropping down to 1...

His grip tightened on the bar, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Grillby felt anger spark within him.


	2. Two

The next day, Sans had come in for lunch right on schedule. He would either stay for an hour or he would end up falling asleep for three and Papyrus would come to either drag him home or back to work. Either way, as Sans sat down in his usual spot, Grillby slid him a bottle of ketchup and moved into the kitchen to start on the skeleton's usual order of fries. Sans immediately lifted a hand to unscrew the cap from the ketchup bottle, then lifted it to his mouth and took a few gulps. A few of the other customers cringed. It seemed none of them would ever be entirely used to that.

Grillby rolled up his sleeves and dumped the fresh cut fries into the fryer, almost all of his thoughts on Sans. Ever since last night, he had been pondering over what to do about his regular's problems. He had only a vague idea of what the problem even was, but he had come to a conclusion that he would have to try a bit harder and do more than just throw some fries or a burger onto a plate for the skeleton. Sans obviously wasn't the type to talk about his problems. If anything, he was far more inclined to hide them. He was certain that Papyrus had noticed his older brother's staggeringly low HP, but Papyrus had a... simple mind. Most of the time. He probably blamed Sans's laziness. Grillby couldn't really fault him for that. He used to think the same.

What did Sans even like? Food, jokes, sleep. Grillby stood in silence as he cooked, the only noise being from the food sizzling and from the light chatter in the dining area. He winced to himself. He didn't know much about Sans at all, it seemed. He knew his personality. That was it. Most people would argue that that would be enough, but it didn't feel that way. How was he supposed to distract Sans from his problems? How was he supposed to fix those problems? The only thing he could fall on was his company. Spending time with Sans, hanging out with Sans. More time had to be spent with him, and it would have to be outside of the bar.

All he knew was that he couldn't stand by and watch Sans sink lower into depression anymore. Everyone knows what happens to a monster when they lose all of their hope. Sans's HP should have set off alarms a long time ago. He'd felt so guilty last night, and he still did. He wouldn't be able to bare it if Sans had fallen down.

His soul felt heavy. It had been so long since he felt like this. He tried to tuck the feeling away as he plated the fries and stepped back out of the kitchen. He moved towards Sans. The skeleton was already halfway through his ketchup. Grillby set the plate down in front of the other and offered to get him more of his favorite condiment, but Sans waved a hand dismissively.

“i gotta be going soon, _tibia_ honest. need to meet somebody.”

Grillby stiffened just a bit. He wondered who it was. It could be the “kid.” He honestly couldn't think of anyone else that Sans would be meeting, but maybe it was just him being too assuming. He barely left his regular's side as he ate, which did earn him a few odd stares from the skeleton. When Sans was down to his last three fries, he blinked his sockets slowly and fixed his gaze on Grillby. “y'know,” he started, tone warm and fun. “i think i'm rubbing off on you, pal. don't seem to be doing much work today.”

Grillby stared at Sans for about half a minute before flinching and chuckling nervously. “I apologize. I've been feeling... off today.” Sans seemed to find this even more strange but shrugged his shoulders as he often did.

“hey, we all have off days. i just don't wanna see you _fizzle out_ , you know?”

Grillby chuckled softly at the pun. That seemed to set Sans a bit more at ease about the situation, so the shorter of the two twisted in his seat and hopped down, slippers nearly falling off his feet. “welp, food was great as usual. i'll be back later, pal.” Grillby snapped fully back into reality at that, and he leaned over the bar in an attempt to speak and grab Sans's attention before the other left.  
  
“Ah, Sans. Wait.”  
  
Sans paused in dragging his feet, turning to face the elemental. Grillby had no idea what to say. He still hadn't worked out how to even go about asking Sans for something. It suddenly became very obvious how limited their relationship was. He cleared his throat, flames crackling and sending off tiny sparks as he did so. Sans quirked a metaphorical brow. “Would you,” he paused, trying to ignore how painfully awkward his voice seemed to sound. He also tried to ignore some of the more nosey patrons in his establishment, eyes glued on his form as he tried to get out a perfectly normal and comprehensive sentence. “Would you like to spend some time together later after I close?”

There were a few highly aggravating whispers and murmurs around the bar. Grillby had never felt so agitated by his customers before in his life, and he had seen almost all of these monsters flat-out drunk before, some of them to the point where they couldn't even walk. Why did they have to start gossiping and giggling like children? Sans looked almost bewildered, eye sockets squinted a tad as if he were trying to piece together a puzzle. Sans seemed suspicious, and it put Grillby on edge. His expression was calculative, and he took his time before giving a hesitant shrug.

“sure, i'll be here.”

“Yes, ah. Good.”

“good.”

“Y-yes.”

“cool. so. _ketchup_ with you later?”

He winked, then aimed a finger gun at the flame. Grillby couldn't help but smile at the familiar and playful gestures. “Yes.” Sans gave him a single wave goodbye, turned, and left the bar. Grillby visibly relaxed once the skeleton was gone. Almost everyone in the bar was looking at him, some with dopey smiles. He would have been further irritated by that, but he was honestly just happy that he had gotten Sans to agree to hang out. He only hoped it wouldn't be too awkward or off-putting, for either of them.

 


	3. Three

Grillby had spent his very brief break trying to figure out what the heck he was supposed to do with Sans when he got there after closing.

It wasn't like there was much to do in Snowdin. Grillby's was considered the “hot spot” in town, and not just because the man was made of fire. The capital had plenty of things to do, but he honestly hadn't been there in years since moving to Snowdin. He was never up to braving the constant showers that Waterfall had to offer. Aside from that, Sans didn't really seem like the type of person who was always up for painting the town red, and Grillby was perfectly fine with that. He was the same, and usually preferred quiet and solitude. Again, ironic, considering he owned a bar.

This probably made them dull people, but whether or not that was true, it did definitely create a problem: what were they supposed to do? He sat behind the bar and flipped through an old human magazine a customer had left behind from the dump, fingers carefully grasping at the damp pages. He was looking for ideas. It was a teen magazine and he would be lying if he said he didn't find it a little amusing. It seemed like humans and monsters weren't as different as most people would like to believe. There were articles on dating, clothes, parties. How to be cool, how to be popular, how to better yourself in general. The age range was way off for his current situation – he and Sans were both grown men, with Sans just being a few years younger – but it was all he had for ideas.

He turned to a section about friendship. Three and a half pages on how to make friends and entertain them. That excited him very briefly until he realized that the article was listing things they simply would not be able to do. Go to the mall, hang out at school, take a drive around town. The list went on, and Grillby was just about ready to burn the thing and dump the ashes when his eyes found a picture of a group of teens, all sitting around and watching television together. It wouldn't hurt at all to keep things simple, he thought to himself. After all, they both seemed to like “simple.”

He took the magazine and set it under the counter for later.

 

It was a surprise to see Sans wander into the bar with a human that night.

However, no one else seemed to know or care that they were human, including Sans. So, Grillby merely continued to pour drinks and clean glasses as he watched the skeleton and human child walk towards the bar. The other monsters there all greeted Sans with kind words and Sans responded with a joke or two, earning some chortles and snickers from them. The human didn't seem to care at all about these jokes, and if anything, they seemed impatient. Grillby noticed the way they shifted on their small feet, looking back and forth between Sans and the door. They were eager to leave.

The two took a seat at the bar, Sans letting out a calculated snort when the human sat on a whoopee cushion. “oops, gotta be careful. sometimes crazy people leave whoopee cushions on the seats.” Grillby felt as if he should chuckle at that, but instead found himself staring at the human child, who took to yanking the cushion out from under themselves and dropping it on the floor. Sans ordered two orders of fries after that, and Grillby went into the kitchen to cook them up. There was definitely some tension between the two of them. Grillby could cut through it with a knife. What was more unsettling to him was that Sans seemed to be forcing himself to go along with the friendly gestures and conversation. Even when Grillby returned and gave them their food, the skeleton went ahead with his jokes and pranks.

“want some ketchup?”

The human shook their head. Grillby's fiery mouth appeared just so he could smile knowingly.  
  
“more for me then.”

Sans winked, downed the entire bottle of ketchup in maybe five gulps, then held out the empty bottle as if he had just performed a brilliant magic trick. Red Bird – seated beside the human – gagged and turned in her seat to face the other way. Grillby, again, would have chuckled.

Except that the human held no expression.

There was no reaction to that, whatsoever.

This bothered Grillby, probably more than it should have. Maybe it was something that humans did on the surface? Maybe chugging a whole bottle of ketchup in three seconds was a normal thing for them? It had to be the only explanation. That or the child was simply rude. Grillby felt more inclined to believe that since he found their actions to be more than a little off-putting. He tried to set that feeling aside, though. After all, they very well could just be shy, like him.

Sans had a conversation with them about the echo flowers commonly found all over the marsh in Waterfall. Apparently, someone was using one as a prank on poor Papyrus. Grillby felt out of place somehow, listening to Sans speak quietly to the human about the topic, so he was relieved when Sans leaned back and stretched, signaling the end of their talk.

“welp, kiddo. i'll be seeing you around.” With that, Sans leaned forward and slumped against the bar, arms folded over one another. The flaming bartender offered Sans a soft nod. It was about time to close the bar, so he figured Sans was staying behind for their hang-out. Grillby was just about to start getting ready for closing when he noticed something.

The human was still there.

They stared at Sans, their face finally showing a different emotion other than boredom. They looked oddly confused, gaze fixed on the skeleton. Sans had his sockets closed, skull tilted back innocently as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. However, a few seconds later he opened his eyes halfway to look down at the child. They furrowed their brows.

“hm? nah, i don't feel like going back to the stand just yet. but thanks for being so concerned about my work ethics, buddy.”

They stared at him harder, as if trying to pull more information out of him. By this point, Grillby could see that Sans had stiffened some. A single bead of sweat had formed on the side of his skull, but other than those things, he seemed perfectly calm. The two of them shared an uncomfortable silence for a moment longer, both expecting something from each other. It wasn't until a second drop of sweat dotted his skull that Sans finally spoke again. “we should hang out again soon, though. catch you later.”

They didn't seem satisfied, but they also didn't seem to see any more reason to stay. They hopped down from their stool and quickly made their way out of Grillby's, immediately turning and walking to the left. The elemental stared after them for a few seconds, then turned his attention back onto Sans. “Well,” he said, tone slightly sarcastic. “They were nice.” Sans laughed at that, not missing the flame's passive-aggressive tone.

“i'm lookin' out for them. promised someone i would.”

Grillby's flames flickered at that. Sans was never the type to make a promise, he remembered the shorter monster telling him so a couple of times before. Perhaps whoever Sans was dating was the child's parent? He could understand making a promise to a lover. Then again, who in the Underground had a human child? They would have had to have been adopted. It was hard enough for Grillby to see Sans in a committed relationship where he would have to make promises, but it was even harder for him to see Sans in that type of relationship with a child involved. Whoever this person was, they had Sans practically jumping through hoops for them, and Grillby wasn't too happy about that.

“anyway. i'm all ready for a _hot_ night on the town.” Sans's voice managed to pull Grillby from his thoughts, and he nodded towards his regular once again. Sans sat and waited patiently as Grillby began to help customers out and clean the place up. It didn't take very long as he decided to get the rest cleaned up later, maybe even in the morning. Once he was finished, Sans stood from his seat and followed Grillby through the kitchen and out the back door, where a set of metal stairs led up to the second floor of the establishment. Grillby was the first to reach the top, hands digging into his pockets for his keys. He unlocked the door and opened it, only to turn and see Sans at the bottom of the stairs. Grillby blinked behind his glasses.

“Are you alright?”

“huh? oh, yeah.” Sans chuckled and pushed his hands into his coat pockets. “just uh, didn't think we'd be hanging out in your place.”  
  
“Well, don't we technically do that every day anyway?”

Sans opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it and instead let out an indignant huff. “alright, don't gotta wave your fancy restaurant in my face, pal.” Grillby laughed softly, flames burning a bit brighter at the playful jab. That seemed to please Sans, who relaxed and began to take sluggish steps up towards his door. Once the both of them were inside, Grillby shut and locked the door behind them, and turned to see Sans had already found the sofa and planted himself there. The old furniture creaked quietly as he shifted to get comfortable. Grillby found the other's built-in instinct for laziness a little endearing, but he still shook his head. “Would you like something to drink?” He turned towards one of the kitchen cabinets, opening it and grabbing a glass.

“wouldn't mind a soda or something.”

Grillby flinched at that, then turned to open up the fridge. Did he even have soda? Yes, way in the back. A single can. He reached in and grabbed it, almost knocking down one of the shelves. A few jars rattled and he straightened, shutting the door. Just as he turned around to pour the soda into the glass, Sans was suddenly there, grinning. “thanks,” he said, phalanges wrapping around the cold can and pulling it from Grillby's grasp.

“You do not want ice?”

“i see ice all the time here, Grillbz. It gets _soda_ -pressing after a while.”

Sans cracked open the can, took a small sip, then made his way back over to the comfortable couch in front of the television. Grillby had a feeling that Sans would be camped out there the entire time he was over. The elemental shrugged to himself and put the glass away before moving to join the other. He sat beside Sans, a proper amount of distance between them. They sat in a somewhat comfortable silence, the skeleton taking small sips of his drink before he cleared his non-existent throat and looked around. “nice place you got here,” he started, free hand moving to pat at the old couch affectionately. “real impressed. _sofa_ , so good.”

Grillby couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to laugh at the puns or cringe. Maybe both. “...Sans, if you insist on telling those jokes, I might have to kick you out.” This earned him a warm, genuine laugh from the skeleton. Grillby flickered happily.

“alright, i get it. _can_ it.”

Sans tapped his soda can for effect.

Grillby groaned.

 

They had watched TV almost the entire time Sans had been over, switching from Mettaton to old movies Grillby had lying around. Sans was quiet for the most part as they watch the movies, a distant look having settled on his features. Grillby was unsure if this meant Sans was bored or not. He felt as if they should be talking, or bonding or connecting or. Something. Halfway into their second movie, the flame finally turned his head to glance down at Sans, who had long since finished his soda and now had his legs dangling limply over the side of the couch, too short for his bare feet to even touch the floor.

“Sans...”

Said monster blinked and turned his attention onto Grillby with a soft “hm?” Grillby shifted under the gaze.

“What are your interests?”

Sans seemed to think over the question for a moment before finally deciding on an answer. “science,” he said, only to continue on with a few more. “and science-fiction. astronomy. got a thing for baking, but never really took to it all that much.” Grillby was a bit surprised, but these things somehow all seemed to fit Sans perfectly. Except baking. He squinted a bit at that.

“You like to bake?”

“sorta. tried it once. lady friend of mine is super into it, so. thought i'd give it a shot.”

Oh. So the lover was a woman, and she enjoyed baking. Grillby quickly went through a mental catalog of every female he knew living in the Underground. He knew a few who liked to bake, but he didn't know any who had an adoptive human child. Feeling a bit defeated that he couldn't some to a conclusion right away, he spoke again. “I take you did not find it very fun?”  
  
“not really that. cooking's just chemistry, and it's pretty easy to do. just takes too much effort.” Sans's grin widened a tad and he glanced back to Grillby. “i'm more of a 'have someone else do the cooking for me' kinda guy.”

“...At least now I know that you don't come to my restaurant for my company.”

Sans sputtered softly, grin twisting into a light smirk as his brows furrowed. “hey, now. i like talking to you, Grillbz. you being a good cook that lets me get away with free meals is just a bonus.”

“Whoever told you they were free?”

“my steadily increasing tab. planning on breaking records with that baby.” Sans held up his hands, trying to paint a mental image of a billboard or matinee. “can't you just see it? world's biggest tab. it'll be great publicity for you, and since i helped get you all that good business, you'll keep giving me free meals.”

“...What a wonderfully delusional world you live in.”

Sans laughed again, hands moving to rest on his rib cage. Grillby shook his head only once before he realized something: Sans has never laughed this much before. Sure, he spouts jokes and puns all the time, but those were to make other people laugh. He'd never seen the skeleton laugh for himself so much.

As Sans's laughter died down, Grillby turned his attention back to the movie they had been watching. He burned a bit brighter, feeling as if their hang-out had been a success, despite what happened in the bar earlier. He'd never felt so close to Sans before, and it was a feeling he decided he wanted more of.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I update randomly because my life has no organization and I am a mess, hope that is OK with you guys.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably be putting in chapter summaries, but I don't really see the point. Sorry if that's lame to you guys or something. Maybe that's just a poor excuse for me being lazy. Anyway, I just wanna thank you all for the support so far. It really helped remind me why I like writing so much.

Frisk was being more attentive than they had been the last few runs.

Sans immediately attributed this to the fact that he had stayed behind to hang out with Grillby last night. It was probably a mistake to do that, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Not to mention that, well. Sans had genuinely wanted to. It had been nice to do something different for a change. He wasn't sure what had gotten Grillby to change his usual course of action in this timeline, but he secretly appreciated it as much as he was afraid of it.

Frisk's personality had changed over time. They had been a little clumsy at first when it came to traversing the Underground. They were genuinely happy, though, or so it had seemed. They had brought everyone to the surface where they stayed for maybe a solid week until everything had been reset. The second go around, they were calmer and more knowledgeable of their surroundings. Puzzles were solved a bit quicker and they had taken the time to wander off and do other things. Sans couldn't complain too much about that, as long as Papyrus was happy.

It wasn't until the fifth reset that things went horribly wrong. Frisk had come out of the Ruins different, monster dust coating their hands. They had become more and more impatient over time anyway and that was to be expected. It was when Sans had started to notice the dull expressions and reactions that he realized it: they were bored. He'd seen it in Flowey, as well. Boredom held a bit more malice when someone had almost complete control over something, especially something as big as time itself. He knew it wouldn't be long until the kid started making some fucked up choices in the name of curiosity. So when the fifth timeline came around and Frisk had decided on genocide, Sans had already half-expected it.

It didn't stop it from hurting, though.

No matter how often Sans told himself that it didn't matter, it never helped. Toriel, Undyne, Asgore. They'd only be gone for just a little while. Papyrus would only be gone for a little while. Then everything would be reset, they'd be back, and maybe Frisk would decide to make better choices and show some mercy. It didn't help. If Toriel didn't die, then Undyne would. If not Undyne, then Asgore. There were times when they had singled out Papyrus, either killing him or keeping him alive. There were times where they killed all of his friends, but not every single monster, and they'd leave him completely friendless in the Underground and with what few monsters that were left to mourn and pick up after Frisk's bloody mess.

“go to hell.”

Sans said it quietly to himself as he watched Frisk walk towards him in the distance. He stood by the premium telescope, hands balled up into fists in his pockets. They stopped in front of him and gave him a long, hard stare before glancing ahead. Ah, he thought to himself. They're unsure of what to do. Too impatient to stop, but they don't want to miss anything, now. Not after last night. Sans remained calm on the outside, smiling as usual. However on the inside, he was mentally cursing himself for staying behind with Grillby. It was only going to set off a new cycle of curiosity and torture for everyone. It probably would have hurt Grillby's feelings and Sans would never have gotten to spend actual quality time with someone again, but at least they would have been safe.

He drew in a short breath and held it in an attempt to calm himself down.

It's only for a little while.

“i'm thinking of getting into the telescope business,” he said, tone of voice exactly the same as the last time he had to go over this little bit of dialogue. He recited his lines perfectly and it seemed to stir up some form of irritation in Frisk. Still, they went ahead and peeked through the telescope for maybe half a second before pulling back with a ring of ketchup around their eye. Sans forced out a convincing chuckle. They turned and gave him an agitated stare. He grinned and promised them a full refund. Seeing that nothing had changed, Frisk looked down at their feet for a moment before continuing on their way. Sans exhaled sharply, finally able to relax a bit. He didn't want to stick around Waterfall anymore. He decided to take a shortcut back home and into his lab, take a few notes, then head over to Grillby's.

 

Grillby hadn't expected Sans to come in at all that day, much less so early. He wasn't opposed to it, though, not in the slightest. Only a few other monsters came in so early and they were all pretty much half-asleep. The bar was quiet except for the occasional soft chatter, but when Sans stepped through the door, everyone turned their heads to look at him. Grillby lowered a pad and pen he was using to take someone's order with, gaze fixed on the short skeleton. Sans grinned at him.

“morning.”

“...Good morning.” Grillby had said it with a bit of a surprised tone. Sans didn't seem to notice and practically slouched over to his usual seat/ The bartender watched as he pulled himself up to sit down on the stool, bony hands resting on the counter top. After jotting down his other customer's order, he moved to stand beside Sans, leaning down just a bit as he spoke. “Shouldn't you be at home asleep? It's awfully early for you.”  
  
“eh, Paps would have just yelled at me anyway. thought i'd make him proud and _raise the bar_ for myself.”

Grillby let out half a chuckle before straightening his posture and flipping to a blank sheet on his pad. “Are you hungry?” Sans shook his head and smiled up at the flame, who nodded and went into the kitchen. Sans took this time to look around the restaurant.

He honestly shouldn't have found anything about it too interesting. It was still the same old' Grillby's. However, things still managed to look different. Everything was so much cleaner and fresher than it was by the middle of the day and especially by the evening. The tables were almost reflective, as was the counter. Sans ran his fingers over the smooth surface, pleasantly surprised when he felt not even a single crumb. The whole place smelled faintly like cedar trees instead of fried foods and alcohol. It was so clean and different compared to what he was used to. Maybe he should start making more of an effort to come in earlier.

The skeleton watched as Grillby exited the kitchen with a plate of food in each hand, carefully balancing them as he made his way over to the table that had ordered them. The flame set their food down and nodded when he received a groggy “thank you” from one of the diners. Grillby then stepped back behind the bar and pulled up a seat for himself in front Sans. The shorter of the two grinned as the elemental sat down, flaming fingers laced together over the counter top. Sans shifted in his seat a bit.

“you don't have to spend time with me. i'm fine just sitting here.”

Grillby seemed unsure of how to respond to that, so he instead tilted his head with a small shrug. “It's not as busy this early. I have time, and want to spend it chatting with you.”

“ain't got much to say.”

“That is fine, neither do I.”

Something fluttered behind Sans's ribs, and it sent a brief but powerful shiver up his spine. He did his best not to physically react to it, but ended up flinching and leaning forward anyway. Grillby didn't seem to think too much of it, at least. He didn't know what to make of the feeling. If he had to be completely honest with himself, maybe it was giddiness. Sans took tons of breaks during the day but they never felt like actual breaks. As far as he was concerned, he was always working, always in a state of worry. He still was really, but he'd never gotten this much relief from it, not even from a long nap. To do something so different and to be able to get to know someone better for a change; it felt like he had stepped into a different reality.

Sans stroked his thumb along his index finger, settling himself into a much-needed calm. Grillby took notice of the skeleton relaxing and felt a bit giddy himself. They sat in comfortable silence, listening to forks and knives gently clinking against plates as the other monsters in the restaurant ate their breakfast. It wasn't until only a few moments later that Grillby spoke again, causing Sans to lift his skull and look at him. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

Sans glanced off to the side, white pupils landing on a bottle of ketchup. He leaned over to try and reach for it, but in the end, Grillby had to slide it closer for him to reach. “not sure yet,” the skeleton said with a somewhat bitter tone. It all depended on when Frisk saved and called it a day. He unscrewed the cap from the bottle. “hoping i won't be. why?”

“...I wouldn't mind spending time with you again.”

“yeah? last night was pretty fun.”

Very fun, but Sans didn't say that out loud. Grillby nodded his head and lifted his hands to settle his chin on top of them,fingers still laced. “It was. Only, that was really all I have to do at my home. We would have to go somewhere else for anything different, I'm afraid.” Sans honestly wouldn't mind if they spent every night that week watching old, crappy movies. Still, he didn't want to have Grillby suffer the same monotony he had to endure. He hummed softly in thought, then took a quick swig of the ketchup. “hmm. could always just chill at my place.”

Grillby almost said yes to that, but then instantly remembered Papyrus. More specifically, he remembered that Papyrus had an obsession with cooking spaghetti. Bad spaghetti. “That sounds nice,” he lied a little, then held up a single digit. “On one condition.”

“you do the cooking?”

Grillby blinked a few times behind his glasses and lowered his hand. Sans chuckled softly and shrugged. “i love my bro to pieces, but why do you think i eat here all the time?” Grillby leaned back and made a soft noise of realization. Papyrus never came into his restaurant, so he often forgot little details about the taller skeleton. He should have figured out a long time ago that Sans was avoiding his brother's cooking. He lifted a hand to his chin and stroked it in a thoughtful manner.

“...I do not want to insult him. I'm fairly sure he doesn't even like my food.”

“yeah, Paps hates grease. he's kind of a health nut like that.”

“Yet spaghetti for every meal is acceptable?”

“keyword: nut.”

Grillby flickered and chuckled, hand lowering back down onto the counter. “I suppose if I made spaghetti, he would not mind as much.” Sans grinned and leaned back, closing one eye.

“that's using your  _noodle_.”

 


	5. Five

Frisk hadn't bothered to show up for the rest of the day, and Sans was grateful for the time off. The only thing that he could find some form of solace in was that they had decided to do another pacifist run, at least for the time being.

He had told Grillby to simply swing by the house after he closed the restaurant. Sans figured Papyrus would want time to get things ready for their guest. He sat on their tacky green sofa and watched as his younger brother frantically pushed a vacuum along the carpet, sweat rolling down the side of his skull as he cleaned. The fact that Papyrus acted like such a mom was one of the many things he loved about his brother. It was more than endearing. That and he was fun to mess with.

“HOW CAN YOU SIT THERE KNOWING WE HAVE A GUEST COMING?”

Papyrus had to talk extra loud so he could be heard over the vacuum cleaner. Sans winced a bit when he heard something knock around inside of the machine, obviously something that should have been picked up first. He gave his brother an innocent look. Papyrus let out a sharp sigh and pushed the vacuum around the television. “HONESTLY,” he began, using his best scolding voice. Sans grinned. “IS IT ANY WONDER WHY PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY INVITE SOMEONE OVER AND NOT EVEN BOTHER TO CLEAN?”

“you seem to have it covered, bro.”

Papyrus ceased his cleaning for a moment and switched the vacuum off, turning to face Sans with a single blink of his sockets. “WHAT?” Sans chuckled.

“i said, you seem to have it covered, bro.”

The taller skeleton heaved a dramatic sigh and glared at the ceiling. “LAZYBONES. I WORK SO HARD AND YOU DON'T EVEN APPRECIATE IT!” Sans felt a small twinge of guilt at that. Papyrus had every right to feel that way, though. Sans was a bit selfish in his own way, and he was all too aware of it. He let his skull loll back to rest on the back of the couch, grin softening into a small smile.

“that's not true, Paps. i appreciate everything you do.”

Papyrus normally would have scoffed at the statement, but the sincerity in Sans's voice was enough to get him to turn around and face his brother. His arms were folded over his ribs as he frowned, small hints of disbelief on his features. “REALLY?”

“really.”

That seemed to spark something within his little brother, and Papyrus was soon grinning once more. “NYEH HEH HEH,” Sans almost snorted. “WELL, OF COURSE YOU DO. I WORK VERY HARD.” Sans nodded in agreement. It was true. Papyrus was always finding new ways to better himself. He'd always been like that, ever since they were kids. He watched as his brother grabbed hold of the vacuum once again, his other gloved hand resting on his chest. “DON'T WORRY, SANS. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE SURE YOUR GUEST IS COMFORTABLE AND WELL-FED WHILE THEY ARE HERE.”

Sans flinched hard, as if he just gotten hit with a brick. “oh, uh.” He stopped himself, already anticipating either anger or disappointment from Papyrus. He didn't really like either. “actually, Grillbz was wanting to cook spaghetti for us.” Sure enough, Papyrus slumped a bit at that, but just as quickly straightened and laughed once more. Sans quirked a brow.

“HE HAS FINALLY WISENED UP, I SEE: SPAGHETTI IS MUCH MORE HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS THAN,” he paused to shudder softly, voice a bit softer when he continued. “grease.” Sans laughed quietly at that, always happy when a problem solved itself. He slid his hands behind his head and nodded in agreement, glad to see his brother in a better mood.

 

 

Still no signs of Frisk. Sans allowed a relaxed sigh to leave him as he finally picked up that damn sock, almost sad to see it go. Papyrus was overjoyed however, and he leaned down to pick up and discard the string of sticky notes that had been attached to it. The entire house was clean, even Sans's room. That hadn't happened in years. Papyrus took in a deep, long breath through his nose, then exhaled sharply. “THIS IS HOW THE HOUSE SHOULD ALWAYS BE, SANS.”

He took in a much smaller whiff, smelling nothing but cleaners. It wasn't offensive, at least. It didn't burn to breathe in. It was a subtle aroma, and simply smelled clean. Sans nodded to his brother, who clapped his hands together once before heading upstairs. “I'M GOING TO CHANGE CLOTHES. I WANT TO LOOK CASUAL AND 'CHILL' FOR OUR GUEST.” Sans chortled and nodded, watching Papyrus practically sprint into his room and shut the door. He pocketed his hands and looked around the immaculate living room. Seeing the place so clean rubbed off on him a bit; he was starting to feel a bit fresher himself. He flexed his toes against the fabric of the carpet, not even remembering the last time he had really walked around inside barefoot. The usual grittiness of the carpet was gone, and it felt soft and new again. Sans lidded his sockets with a smile.

Quiet knocking on the front door nearly made him jump out of his hoodie. He took a second to settle, then made his way over and slowly pulled the door open. Grillby stood in the doorway, dressed way too formal for the occasion. Sans looked him over once. Black dress shoes, dark gray dress pants and coat, and a white dress shirt underneath. At least there wasn't a tie. Sans chuckled.

“didn't have to get all dressed up for us, buddy.”

Grillby lifted a hand to push up his glasses, feeling a bit embarrassed by the statement. Sans shook his head and stepped aside, inviting the elemental in. “take your shoes off, please. bro insists.” Grillby obeyed, stepping out of his shoes and gently nudging them beside Sans's slippers by the door. Once Grillby was inside, Sans shut the door and stood there, honestly unsure of what to do. Papyrus was usually the one with better social skills, at least in his opinion. The only guest Sans was used to having in the house was the human, and he was usually locked in his room while they were there. He looked to his right, staring at his pet rock sitting on the table before he cleared his throat.

“welp, this is the living room. this is where we do our living.”

Grillby's flames flickered brightly, harmless sparks leaping off of him as he laughed quietly. Sans grinned even wider, then led the other over to the kitchen. He swept his arm out in a grand gesture, voice light and playful. “this is the kitchen, where five-star meals are made three times a day.” This earned a jokingly unenthusiastic “ooh, aah” from Grillby. Sans almost beamed, loving when people actually played along with his antics. Once they left the kitchen, they both glanced towards the stairs. Sans seemed to be in no mood for climbing them just yet, so he pointed up at the two doors on the second floor. “Papyrus's room, where you will sometimes see a Papyrus.” Grillby gave another chuckle and Sans pointed to his room. “my room, where only the coolest people are allowed.” He lowered his arm and turned to face Grillby, hands back in his pockets. Grillby looked down at him. “i would let you in there, but. it's kinda hard for fire to be cool, y'know?”

“If I did not know any better, I would take offense to that.”

“good thing you know better, huh?”

Grillby smiled down at the skeleton. The two of them jumped when Papyrus practically burst out of his room and downstairs, wearing a pair of shorts that was too big for him and had been bedazzled to hell and back, a shirt with a neon-orange skull on the front, and a backwards baseball cap that read “chill” in cursive on the front. Grillby blinked rapidly before looking down at Sans again, who wasn't fazed in the slightest. “lookin' good, bro.”

Papyrus grinned as wide as his bones would allow, then shoved his hand into Grillby's own. He shook it violently,the flame's entire arm shaking and flailing until Papyrus finally decided to let go. “IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, GRILLBY. IT HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME.”

Grillby rubbed his arm, feeling like it had almost been ripped from his shoulder. “Y-yes, it has been quite a while, Papyrus. You look well.”

“AS DO YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!”

 

Sans had forgotten how good spaghetti can taste. The three of them sat down at the table in the living room, eating the food Grillby had cooked for them. Papyrus was a little more than impressed, even if he was reluctant to show it. Grillby sat in the middle, silent as he ate, though Sans could tell he was happy that the brothers were enjoying his cooking. Sans crossed his ankles as he sat there and ate, tips of his toes barely touching the floor. Grillby spoke more with Papyrus than they probably had in years. Papyrus was chattering away about cooking and Undyne, to which Grillby was surprisingly able to keep up with. His little brother was finally able to swallow some of his pride and ask Grillby for a recipe. The flame smiled and nodded, saying he would write it down later.

Sans ate quietly and watched, happy with being a bystander for the time being. It was nice to hear the two of them talk and share similar interests. It was even nicer to sit down and have a meal together, with no rush to finish eating. Time moved a bit slower in this precious moment, and Sans was incredibly grateful for it.

He ate the rest of his food languidly, already full. Once they were all finished, Papyrus stood and gathered their plates, then took them into the kitchen. He stood on his tip-toes and carefully placed them in the abnormally tall sink. Grillby looked like he wanted to ask questions, but decided not to.

It was Sans and Papyrus.

“OH, SANS! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU! THE HUMAN STOPPED BY TODAY AND WE HAD A VERY PLATONIC DATE.”

And everything came to a screeching halt. Sans stiffened in his seat, but had no change in expression. Grillby turned his attention to the shorter monster, quirking a brow.

“oh yeah? just platonic?”

“Y-YES. I FELT VERY BAD THAT I COULD NOT RETURN THEIR FEELINGS.”

“i'm sure they'll be fine.” It wasn't like they really cared. Not anymore at least. The human's date with his brother was one of the events that Sans despised the most. He was grateful that Papyrus had never had feelings for them to begin with. Papyrus didn't seem to understand that they were a child. He'd never seen a human before them, after all. Still, the very thought that his little brother could have possibly developed feelings for them made him want to retch. Grillby looked to Papyrus with a nervous smile.

“...I believe they are too young for you anyway, Papyrus.”

“PERHAPS. THEY DO NOT SEEM TO BE AT THE SAME LEVEL OF MATURITY AND COOLNESS THAT I AM AT.”

Grillby nodded, sure that the other hadn't fully understood what he meant. He decided to leave it at that, though. His attention went back to Sans, who seemed to be uncomfortable. The shorter skeleton was rubbing small, slow circles against the wooden table, his expression cold and distant despite the grin. There a soft chime from the kitchen and Grillby looked in its direction. Papyrus had pulled out his phone, looking down at the screen happily. “THAT IS THEM, NOW. I SUPPOSE THEY ARE IN NEED OF MY ASSISTANCE.” Sans bit back a sigh.

“better take that then, huh?”

Papyrus nodded and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he left the room, the two left behind could hear him laugh and speak to the child. Sans stood from his seat and smiled towards the bartender, one hand lingering on the table. “now that i think about it, you're cool enough to see my room.”

Grillby returned the smile.

 

Sans normally didn't care about the the state his room was normally in, but he was a bit relieved that it had been cleaned before Grillby arrived. It had been hard to walk around before without stepping on something or other, but now the place was practically spotless. His sheets and pillow had even been washed and laid out on the mattress, like a real bed. Grillby stepped inside, the first thing he noticed being the treadmill. He didn't think Sans was the type to work out, so it did strike him as odd. He decided not to question it, worrying it would come off as rude. Everything else about the room seemed normal. He turned to face Sans.

“You did not have to bring me in here.”

“eh, i didn't wanna disturb Paps while he was on the phone.”

I didn't wanna hear him talking to that...

Sans stopped that train of thought and stepped over to his dresser. After pulling open one of the drawers, he reached inside to retrieve his laptop. The skeleton then plopped onto his bed, bringing his legs up to sit with them crossed.

Grillby watched with a concerned expression. Sans definitely did not seem happy, and it had started with Papyrus mentioning the human child. He watched as Sans flipped his computer open and began sluggishly typing away. Perhaps the child reminded him of his lover. Grillby took another look around the room, hoping to spot a picture of this mystery woman somewhere. The walls were bare. Maybe now was the time to be a little more direct.

“You seem upset.”

Sans looked up from his laptop, having just sent his brother a corny joke via some social network's messaging system.

“huh?”

“...At dinner. You seemed upset that Papyrus had brought up his date.”

Sans felt uncomfortable once again. Grillby could tell? No one else had been able to. He felt his confidence crack just a bit, along with something else. “nah, i just uh. i don't really like that kid.”

Grillby squinted at that.

“...You do not?”

“yeah.”

“Why?”

Sans shifted under Grillby's gaze, then shrugged with a chuckle. “i'm a bully, i guess. never was too fond of kids.”

“Then...” Grillby trailed off for a moment, arms folding over his chest. He wanted to take a little time to ask himself if it would be rude to ask, but he knew that if he kept going at the rate he was, he would never have any real answers to his questions. Sans sounded unsure with his answer. “Then why are you dating someone who has a child?”

Sans's eyes widened some and he leaned back, fixing Grillby with a confused stare. The flame felt even more heat rise to his face. Had he been wrong this entire time?

“dating? i'm not... dating anyone.”

He had been. All of his assumptions were incorrect. Grillby felt the sting of humiliation in his chest, and he lifted a hand to rub at the side of his neck sheepishly. He hadn't felt so awkward in such a long time, or so stupid. Sans seemed to want to question further, but he hesitated. It took almost an entire minute for the skeleton to break the silence.

“...what made you think i was?”

Grillby shifted his weight onto one leg. “...A couple of nights ago, you were a bit drunk.” Realization seemed to dawn on Sans, who practically sent his gaze flying to the floor. “You mentioned that someone had been hurting you,” he paused, his own head tilting down so he could stare at the carpet. “...killing you. I remembered your HP, and so...”

“...and you thought i was, what? being abused?”

“...Yes.”

Sans fell silent once again at that. He closed his laptop and set it down on the floor. He wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't angry at Grillby in the slightest. Thinking on it, he figured that the bartender's line of thinking was pretty rational. Only, now he knew what had altered the course of this timeline. He didn't remember what he said at Grillby's that night exactly, but it obviously had been something powerful enough to strike concern within Grillby. The flame had thought of his low HP and merely put two and two together. Sans sighed and rubbed the back of his skull. He'd have to stop getting drunk at Grillby's from now on, maybe even period. He froze, then let his hand fall to rest at his side.

“...so, i guess that means you just wanted to hang out with me 'cus you pitied me.”

Grillby's flames sparked once before dimming. Oh, no.

“That was not my intention at all, Sans. I was worried, yes, but...”

“but what?”

Grillby's hands fumbled for a moment, the elemental unsure of what to do with them. He eventually settled on tugging at the end of his sleeve anxiously. “...I realized that I couldn't just sit back and let something so terrible happen to you. I wouldn't have been able to call myself your friend if you had... fallen down, and I didn't at least try to help prevent it.”

Great, now Sans felt like a liability. His HP was now proven to be a reminder. No one had thought to mention it before, though. This meant he would have to act twice as hard next time so no one suspected anything. His shoulders sagged as he slumped forward. Grillby took notice and let out a soft sigh.

“...You are important to me, Sans. I care about you deeply.”

Once again, Sans felt his eyes widen. Part of him wanted to chance a look a Grillby, to see his expression, but he couldn't seem to find the will to do it. The other's voice was sincere, and it put everything that had just happened into a new light. Then again, he didn't want to be too assuming, either. Still, he couldn't stop the fluttering of his soul and the bit of heat that found it's way onto his face. He couldn't remember the last time someone had told him that he was important or that they cared about him and his well-being. In just a couple of days, Grillby had managed to put him more at ease than he had ever been in a long, long time. He had hidden his anxiety from his friends and brother so well, and yet Grillby had managed to see through it.

Sans trailed his gaze along the floor to the edge of the wall, a hand moving to rub at his arm.

Grillby could feel the other's anxiousness. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Had he said the wrong things? The flame took a moment to sort through his thoughts before moving over to the mattress and sitting down next to Sans. The skeleton stilled, and Grillby placed a warm hand on the male's back. He rubbed along his spine soothingly, sitting close but not too close. The last thing he wanted to do was make Sans feel even more uncomfortable. Grillby already felt as though he had just knocked down one of Sans's many protective walls, and he wasn't so sure that was a good thing at this point in time.

“...I don't want you to suffer alone.”

Sans's defensive side considered asking Grillby to leave, but he really didn't want to. Instead, he opted to remain silent and stare and the floor. Grillby continued to stroke his back, though he slowed and leaned forward just a tad, trying to catch a glimpse of the skeleton's expression. Sans turned away further, intimidated by the fact that Grillby could read him so easily.

“...Sans.”

“...”

“Speak to me. I'll listen.”

Sans opened his mouth to maybe crack a joke and ask for the other to leave, but instead he found himself turning his head to face Grillby. The elemental's brows creased when he saw those sockets devoid of the white pupils that were usually there. It unsettled him. He'd never seen this expression on Sans before.

“i just...” Sans started, only to tilt his head down again. Grillby waited patiently. Sans let out a weak chuckle, voice broken. The flame tensed.

“ _I just really don't like that kid._ ”

It took a moment for Grillby to connect the dots, but when he had, his hand had dropped down slowly to the middle of the skeleton's spine. The “kid.” Sans's empty sockets inspected his friend's face, soul pulsing rapidly as he saw the realization wash over his features. He'd never said anything about it to anyone before, and he was terrified of the consequences it could bring. He was already suffering and preparing for some to come later, just because he had decided to actually spend time with someone.

Grillby leaned back some, voice sterner than Sans had ever heard it.

“...What have they done to you?”

Sans considered his options, what few there were. The one he hated the most was the one that he was leaning heavily towards. He hadn't let his emotions decide anything for him since he was a kid himself, not until now. He turned to face his entire body towards his friend.

“...you'll think i'm crazy.”

“I would never.”

Sans believed him, and it scared him. He drew in a shuddered breath.

“that kid...they can reset-----”

 

 

Sans inhaled and almost choked, stumbling back and leaning all of his weight against the cavern wall. One of his hands reached back to grasp at the jagged edges of rock, the other briefly clenched over his soul before it fell to his side. He looked around, trying to collect himself and take in his surroundings. He was back in Waterfall, beside the telescope. He quickly came down from his attack, cursing softly to himself. He was usually calm whenever the kid loaded a save, but he was caught completely off guard that time. His chest ached, grin faltering as the corners of his mouth twitched and threatened to form a scowl.

That talk, those feelings. What he had said to Grillby, and what he didn't get to say. It all meant nothing.

Just as he pushed off of the wall and lifted a hand to rub at his brow, Frisk's feet came into view, and he snapped his head up to look at them, shocked.

They tilted their head.

“...uh? n-no, i'm fine kid.”

They nodded, then shifted their hands behind their back. Sans squinted an eye.

“...do i like Grillby?”

They nodded once. Sans looked off to the side, words escaping him. Why would they ask that, and now? What made them think---?

Sans tensed and looked back at Frisk, remembering that he had opted to stay behind with Grillby instead of going back to work. The consequences were about to begin.

He felt the need to keep his jaw shut tight, but knew that would only be more suspicious. “i don't like Grillbz, heh.” He pushed his hands into his pockets, forcing himself to relax and look as casual as possible. “don't think it'd work out between us. pretty sure it'd _go up in flames_.”

Frisk took a moment to think about Sans's answer, then nodded softly. They turned and continued on their way. Sans watched them until they rounded a corner. Once the human was out of sight, Sans leaned back against the wall and slid down a few inches, legs suddenly weak.

He fucked up, and there was no way to fix it.

 


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am still here. I'm thinking about trying to post weekly until this is done, but it really all depends on my mood. I simply haven't felt like writing for the past few days. Sorry to keep you all waiting, heh.

Sans made the decision to act as if nothing different had ever happened at all. He figured Grillby would be a little upset by this, but it was for everyone's own good. He simply couldn't risk everything he'd done to keep everyone safe again.

So he didn't go to Grillby's that day. He didn't have the time, anyway. Frisk was already going through their routine with Undyne, so Sans had decided to slowly make his way towards his station in Hotland. He'd wait there, take a little nap like always, and when the kid was done splashing water on Undyne's face, he'd leave for home and crash on the couch for a bit like he normally did. Same old, same old. He hated it, with almost every bone he had, but he also found some sort of twisted solace in it now, if only for the fact that he knew it kept Papyrus and the rest of the Underground safe. For the most part, anyway.

He had just passed Temmie Village when his phone suddenly rang, scaring him enough to make him stumble and almost fall. That was different. Soul pounding behind his ribs, he shoved his hand into his pocket and retrieved the device, flipping it open to see who was calling.

_grillbz_

Oh. Well, shit.

What should I do? He pondered this to himself as he stared at the screen, phone blaring some obnoxious tune played with a kazoo. God, he wanted to answer it. He wanted to talk to his friend and crack a few jokes. He wanted to laugh and hear Grillby laugh. His thumb hovered over the answer button before swiping it over the keypad to the opposite side. He smashed his thumb against the end button, ignoring the call. It felt so bad. He almost thought he would throw up.

Flipping his phone shut and dropping it back into his pocket, Sans continued on his way with a nice wad of guilt settled in his gut.

 

Grillby stared at the wall, hand loosely holding the restaurant's corded landline up to the side of his head. It didn't even go to voicemail, which made him think Sans had opted to block his call. Grillby would have been a little angry if he wasn't overcome with worry. Sans wasn't really the type to just ignore a call from anyone. He might not get to it right away – he was asleep almost all the time after all – but he never just... ignored someone. He listened to the dial tone for a few more seconds before slowly hanging the phone back up on its hook. Odd.

“He asleep?”

Grillby turned to glance back at Red Bird, who had been nursing some fruity drink for around half an hour. The bartender shook his head. “I think he ignored the call.” Red Bird squinted her eyes at him, looking more than a little suspicious.

“He's never done that before.”

“...He has not.”

“Well,” she practically spat the word, sounding greatly offended. “You think you know a guy.”

Grillby watched her lean back and take another few sips of her drink. Grillby felt a bit of anger well up in his chest at her words, but he couldn't help but sort of feel the same way. It was childish and he knew it, so he quickly tried to reason with Red Bird and himself. “Perhaps he is busy with something important.”

“Psh. Like what? Like work?”

“...Yes.”

“For some reason, I can't picture Sans working so hard that he just had to ignore a call.”

Grillby sparked a bit, furrowing his brows at the woman. She blinked. “You are being a bit harsh on him.” His voice was stern, barely crackling at all as he spoke. Red Bird's eyes widened some at that. She'd never heard him speak so clearly before. After a few moments passed and Grillby seemed to calm down a bit, she leaned forward and spoke again. “I'm sorry,” she said, clearing her throat. “I just... I'm worried about him, too? I really think he needs someone like you in his life right now.”

He wasn't sure whether or not to feel flattered or embarrassed by that statement. He remained silent, reaching out to take a customer's empty glass so he could refill it. Red Bird continued. “Sans doesn't come around much anymore. Ever since his HP started dropping, I was worried. I started thinking that, maybe he's just lonely?” Grillby shook his head softly.

“...I believe he is dating someone.”

“Wait, what?”

The elemental shrugged. “Sometimes he speaks about someone when he's here, and he says they are hurting him. It was a theory of mine.”

“So he's being abused.” Red Bird looked down at her drink, shame briefly settling on her features for what she had said earlier. However, she soon squinted an eye and looked back up at Grillby. “Wait, it _was_ a theory? So you know who he's dating?” Grillby's flames flickered before he reluctantly shook his head. Red Bird clicked her tongue. “Then why did you say that?”

“...For some reason, I feel like I was wrong for thinking that.”

“So you _don't_ think he's dating anyone?”

“Not anymore.”

“What changed your mind?”

He shrugged yet again, hands now busying themselves with wiping down an empty mug. “I am not sure, I just feel as if he's told me before that he isn't.” Grillby went through every memory he could pull up right away involving Sans's late-night confessions. He couldn't recall any time that the skeleton said he was or wasn't dating anyone. He flickered again. Red Bird propped her cheek into her feathered palm and sighed.

“I dunno,” she said, voice full of frustration. “I hate to think he's suffering alone.”

Grillby's movements slowed to a stop before he turned to reach for the phone again, fiery fingers swiftly pushing in Sans's number again. Red Bird watched, looking more hopeful than before.

 

Sans had ignored a total of four calls from Grillby by the time he got to his station. He'd caught on by the second and simply let it ring until it went to his voicemail, though it still didn't help the sinking feeling in his metaphorical stomach. Once he was at his post, he pulled himself up to sit on his little chair behind the stand and settled in. The heat didn't really bother him, he was used to it from years spent working at the CORE. All he really had to do was sit back and snooze, but he was having trouble doing that. He still felt pretty shitty for ignoring Grillby, especially since he knew the other was just trying to help him feel better. The only thing he could take comfort in was knowing that Grillby wouldn't remember his almost-confession about the timelines resetting. That was almost his biggest mistake yet.

Other monsters already experienced a bit of déjà vu here and there whenever the human reset. Sans didn't want anyone else to go through what he had to go through, and he didn't want to give Frisk the chance to toy with them.

Sans let out an exasperated sigh, hands folding on top of the stand he sat at. He couldn't wait until he could go home and sleep the guilty feelings he was harboring off. He couldn't wait until this run was over, and he'd have maybe a few weeks on the surface to see Papyrus and everyone else happy for a little while, without too much of Frisk's involvement. He closed his sockets and tried to focus on that feeling. It's only for a little while. He was so close to nodding off when he heard someone step in front of his stand. He was expecting Undyne, but was more than a little shocked to see Grillby standing there when he opened his eyes.

“...grillbz?”

“That would be me, yes.”

Sans winced. The elemental did not sound too happy. His grin faltered before he collected himself and straightened his posture. “what are you doing here, buddy?” Grillby visibly relaxed a touch when he heard Sans speak, but it didn't stop him from sounding annoyed.

“...You ignored my calls.”

Sans looked down at his coat pocket where his cell phone was, almost glaring at it as if it was to blame. There wasn't much he could say to get out of this. Grillby was too smart to take just any lie, and he obviously couldn't tell him the truth. “ah, sorry. that was pretty _cell_ fish of me, heh.” Grillby's flames sparked threateningly. Sans shrugged. “my boss was hanging around to make sure i wasn't slacking off. she doesn't like me being on the phone.”

Grillby took a moment to ponder that, then slowly began to relax again. “I see. I apologize.” Suddenly, the flame felt pretty stupid. He'd practically power-walked through Waterfall, dodging as much rain as possible, just to see if Sans was alright. He wasn't even particularly nice about it, either. He sounded more like a pissed-off girlfriend than anything. He lifted a hand to rub his neck sheepishly. “I was... worried.”

Sans felt another pang of guilt in his chest. That was exactly what he didn't want anyone to do: worry. Sans worried all the time and it was killing him, literally. The last thing he wanted was to see someone he cared about in a similar position. The skeleton shook his head. “no need to worry about me, pal.” He lifted an arm and flexed his nonexistent muscles. “i'm tough.”

That earned a reassuring smile from Grillby.

Sans was about to send him on home when the sound of heavy armor clanking caught his attention.

Shit.

They both swiveled their heads to look towards Undyne, sweat pouring down the sides of her face already. In front of her stood Frisk, who had their gaze fixed on Grillby. Sans felt like he was about to hyperventilate, and it took almost all of his willpower to calm himself down. Undyne blinked rapidly before reaching out to snatch Frisk by the collar of their shirt. She stomped over to Sans and stood in front of his station, glaring.

“Hey, hey, hey!! You're supposed to be watching out for _these_!” She lifted Frisk up and held them in front of Sans, giving them a little shake for emphasis. “Not flirting with your little boyfriend!!”

Sans inhaled and choked on the air, coughing while Grillby stood there awkwardly with a dumbfounded expression. Undyne sneered while Frisk smiled at Sans expectantly. The skeleton patted his fist against his sternum, voice weak as he spoke.

“h-he's not my boyfriend.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“...That's correct, we aren't---” Undyne whirled around to face Grillby, sweat-soaked ponytail nearly smacking him across the face. He flinched hard, then continued. “---dating.”

It was unclear as to whether or not Undyne really cared, but she soon let out a bellowing laughter that managed to echo through the cavern despite the loud gurgling of lava. Sans wanted nothing more than to just throw himself into that pit and end it all.

“HAH! You dweebs can't hide it from me, everyone from Snowdin to Waterfall is talking about you two!” She pointed an accusing finger to Grillby, then spoke in a mocking, love-sick voice. “Ohh, Sans, do you wanna hang out with me? We should spend more time together!”

Sans was mortified, but he hid it well under his usual grin. He couldn't stop the twitching of his right socket, however. Frisk continued to smile at this turn of events, dangling in Undyne's grasp. Grillby's own brows furrowed, and he let out a huff of fire. Undyne guffawed. “Hey, I'm not judging! I think you two dorks are kinda cute together and all but,” she paused and whipped around to face the short skeleton again, jabbing a finger in his face. “you need to focus on your friggin' job!!!”

Sans saw an opportunity to annoy the woman that he simply couldn't pass up.

“or what? you'll _fire_ me?”

Undyne flinched so hard that her armor rattled. There was a beat of silence before she dropped Frisk and reached out, hands grasping the sides of Sans's wooden sentry station. She lifted it up high above her head, then flung it effortlessly into the pit of lava below. Sans was left sitting there on his stool, hands in his hoodie pockets. The lava popped and gurgled even louder, consuming the station. Grillby took a step back.

Undyne stared down at Sans, eyes squinted hard as she sneered.

“Next time that'll be you.”

Sans blinked once, slow and thoughtful, before replying to her threat.

“dang, and i thought for sure you'd _lava_ that joke.”

Grillby took another step back and Frisk followed. A visible vein throbbed on Undyne's forehead, but before she could do anything, her eyes fluttered and she fell out onto the ground unconscious, the heat finally getting to her. Sans looked down at her before glancing up at Frisk. They stared for a moment before making their way towards the water cooler nearby. Grillby looked at Sans before rubbing his neck once more and speaking.

“...Things sure got _heated_.”

Sans couldn't stop the genuine feeling of adoration from bubbling up in his chest.

 


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans struggles more with this run of the game going off-course and lets his frustration be known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm back? Sorry for the huge delay. I just... lost all inspiration, but felt horrible and wanted to try and continue this. I had forgotten most of the plot points and what I wanted to be done with this story, but I remember most of them now. Had notes, but they're on my old laptop, which is now busted and dead. Rotten luck. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter is so short. Easing back into this.

Things were going horrifically bad.

Frisk had insisted that they all go hang out with Undyne once the fish woman had regained consciousness. She'd resisted at first, having wanted Sans to work more at his post, but promising a cooked meal from Grillby without the elemental's consent was enough to change her mind. Sans winced a tad, feeling bad for Grillby. He probably wanted to get back to the pub. He also felt bad for, well, himself. More time deviating from the path meant more time for the human to play and meddle.

Determination was a tough thing to beat, though.

Undyne didn't want the human in her house. Sans cheered internally, tempted to grab a broom and poke Frisk away from the front door with the handle, but of course Papyrus had been there waiting, and he wanted everyone to be friends and be happy and all that mush. Sans's will to live was chipping away bit by bit. Too much was different, he'd studied the pacifist route so many times just to make sure everything went according to plan. There were rules to this. Regulations. They were all being trampled on and ignored, all because he decided to try and feel normal for a few moments.

 

Everyone sat at Undyne's table in silence. Usually Papyrus would have flung himself out of the window by now, but he was sitting there between Sans and Grillby with a bright smile on his face. Undyne sneered at Frisk from her spot at the table, but Frisk was looking at Sans. Their gaze bore into him, but he refused to look back. He kept on his grin, tried to keep his socket from twitching. Tried to will away the nervous sweat. Somehow, it was working. To anyone else, he appeared to be just fine. On the inside, he was screaming.

“THIS IS GREAT!” Grillby flinched at Papyrus's loud tone. He'd never get used to it, he supposed. Undyne flicked her gaze to her friend, sneer still firmly in place. “LOOK AT ALL OF US! GOOD FRIENDS! AND NO ONE EVEN HAD TO RECIEVE A BRUTAL BEATING FROM UNDYNE!”

“ _Yet,_ ” the woman added from across the table. She smirked maliciously and leaned forward with a hand on the table, long claws scratching at the wooden surface. Frisk finally broke their gaze off from Sans to look at Undyne. They seemed only a little concerned. Sans was just happy to have their eyes off of him. He relaxed in his seat some. “You just wait, you snot-nosed little punk. Once we're done with all the chit-chat in here, I'm gonna drag you outside and shove my spear right down the center of y--”  
  
“How about something to drink?” Grillby piped up nervously, honestly not wanting to hear about how Undyne wanted to murder a child. Papyrus clapped his hands delightedly at the notion of beverages, asking for warm milk. Grillby practically clambered out of his seat and towards the fridge. Undyne watched him with a leering gaze. She watched him open the fridge, only to be greeted by a warm burst of air. He seemed confused for a moment, but reached in for the half-empty jug of milk inside, only to give it a disgusted look. Chunky.

“...Hot fridge,” she said, as if that would explain this travesty. Grillby turned to face her for a moment, then looked to Papyrus. The taller skeleton brother looked absolutely horrified, so Grillby merely put the milk back where he found it.”Got tea, soda, and hot chocolate. Take your pick.” Papyrus wanted hot chocolate, everyone else settled on tea. After giving the human one final glare, Undyne stood up from the table and went to gather everything they needed, figuring Grillby would need a hand finding everything. Once again, those eyes were back on Sans.

He tensed up again.

 

The visit went as good as it possibly could have. Undyne almost flung a spear at Frisk twice, but Papyrus was there to mediate and he somehow succeeded in getting the two of them to be friends/ Grillby was relieved by this, and so was Sans, to some degree. With this, maybe things can finally get back on track, he thought to himself. Once the visit was over, he'd go home and nap, then head to the hot dog stand deeper in Hotland. He'll act like nothing was different, and maybe that would deter Frisk and set them back onto their normal route.

After setting the house on fire trying to show Frisk and Papyrus how to make a more complex type of spaghetti, they all managed to get out mostly unharmed. This was bound to happen no matter what, he figured. Undyne set her house on fire maybe five times a month. He was glad it happened. Normalcy. He patted at his hoodie sleeve, putting out a small bit of fire before it scorched the fabric. Grillby sighed, standing beside him with his hands at his sides.

“I should have... intervened.”

Sans scoffed at that. “was gonna happen whether you wanted it to or not, undyne is real stubborn.”

Grillby nodded his head, knowing pretty well how intense the woman was, especially after all of... that. He glanced over Undyne, who was standing next to Frisk. She was laughing her gills off at a blackened Papyrus, who looked like he'd just been through a war. Frisk was smiling, but not at them.

They were smiling at Grillby.

The bartender looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. He dusted himself off and straightened his sleeves. “I suppose I should be on my way home, now. I've kept the pub closed long enough.” Sans nodded up at his friend, more than happy to get him out of harm's way. Just as things seemed to be getting back in order and Sans felt like he could relax again, the kid was by his side, along with Undyne and Papyrus. He flinched. Frisk gave him a thoughtful look before tilting their head. Undyne bellowed, laughter even louder than the roaring flames behind them.

“Good idea, squirt! These two dorks _should_ go on a date!”

I'm gonna puke, Sans thought to himself. He tried so hard to keep his composure. Sweat rolled down the side of his skull, face tinted blue. Grillby sparked a few times, looking away. Undyne moved over to the elemental and hooked an arm around his shoulders. She jabbed his chest with a finger and cackled. “What're you lookin' all nervous for? Don't you like 'em short?” She looked down for a second, smiling like a nervous kitten. “...I think shorter monsters are super cute, heh.”

Grillby flustered and tried to step out of her grasp, but she held even tighter. Papyrus looked somewhat confused, gaze fixed on his older brother. Sans tried his best to avoid it out of embarrassment. He was angry and panicked. Felt like a cornered mouse about to be gobbled up by the cat. He shot a quick glare at Frisk without even thinking. The human frowned.

Sans practically stomped away from the group. All eyes were on him, Undyne having stopped teasing Grillby. She looked lost. “Hey, short-stack, what's the matter?”  
  
“i ain't really into this middle school who's-gonna-date-who mush,” came the muttered reply. Papyrus looked upset. Sans was angry, and he wasn't even sure why. He stepped closer, wringing his hands.  
  
“SANS...?”  
  
“This ain't funny.” Sans turned and lifted a hand to point at Frisk, voice stern and commanding. “You wanna go home, right? The longer you stay down here, the more your life is at risk. Get your ass through Hotland and head for the King. Let him deal with gettin' you outta here.”

Silence. His sockets had gone empty, voice dark and laced with an undertone of malice. He sighed, having already realized his mistake, and let his arm fall to dangle at his side. He tilted his skull away from the group. “I'm going home. Don't bug me.”

Before Papyrus could interject, Sans blinked out of Waterfall and most likely back to just where he said he was going. After looking down at Frisk, Papyrus began to wring his hands once again. He looked on the verge of tears, wondering how his brother had gotten so upset. Instead of saying anything, he began walking home. Undyne reached out for him, but said nothing and just as quickly lowered her hand back to her side. She glanced at Grillby, then at Frisk, where her gaze lingered.

“I should follow him. I don't want Papyrus to just be... alone.”

“Good idea,” Grillby said. Undyne nodded and jogged after her friend, leaving just Frisk and Grillby behind. The burning house crackled and roared behind them. Grillby took this moment to look down at the human child. He studied their face. They were looking down, expression unreadable, but it was clear they were thinking, processing all that had just happened. He squinted, focused on their face. Calculative, plotting. They were piecing things together, and they didn't even look remorseful or upset about the fact that Sans had channeled a very rare bout of anger at them. They seemed to hesitate on something before shaking their head softly and looking up to him. Grillby immediately looked away.

“...I am not sure why he was so upset, but. He is right. You should be off to seek help from the King.”

Frisk stared for a moment longer before finally leaving. Grillby's shoulders slumped once the human was gone. Sans had called the person that was hurting him “kid.”

Grillby was starting to wonder if that was less of an affectionate term and more something to be taken literally.


	8. Eight

Sans had no idea why he suddenly lost his cool back in Waterfall, but he was regretting it big time.

The fact that his whole life was a game to the human was more than a little frustrating. Now that Grillby was being pulled into that on a much deeper level was worse. Not just that, but it was clear what the kid had in mind for them. It was clear that Frisk wanted to manipulate their emotions. Frisk was trying to get them to fall for each other. Sans curled tighter into a ball, blankets wrapped around himself almost entirely. Only his sockets were left uncovered.

He didn't want fall for anyone. Having feelings for someone would just prove to be more stressful. More heartbreak. Once the kid was bored, they'd reset, and whoever Sans got involved with would just forget it all. What was the point? What's worse is that he was pretty sure Frisk knew what this was doing to him. Surely by now, the kid had caught onto the fact that Sans had at least some idea as to what was going on and what they were doing. It was all just a game, they didn't care. The kid just wanted to play God.

Sans had snapped, there was no changing that now, not unless Frisk decided to reset or load a save. His plan now was to just... play it off as him having been embarrassed and to stay in his room for the rest of the run. Surely it'd get boring if he wasn't around for Frisk to pick on and manipulate. Sans stared at a piece of chipped paint on his wall. Yeah, that could work. If he just refused to talk Frisk, it'd get dull and the kid would reset. Then things would go back to the way they were. If he tried to set him up with Grillby or anyone else, he'd just do the same thing: act childish, get angry, and refuse to talk to them. Maybe then they'd give up on the idea entirely.

There were some holes in the plan, but Sans decided to worry about them later. He was too emotionally drained from everything. He turned over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. It wasn't much longer until he heard the front door of the house open and then shut. Heavy footsteps moved up the stairs and closer to his room. Papyrus, he figured. Sounded like boots. As soon as he heard his doorknob turn, Sans shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Not now, he thought. Don't wanna talk.

Sure enough, Papyrus opened the door and opened his mouth to call his brother's name, only to pause and slump at seeing the shorter skeleton asleep in bed. Even Sans's breathing was calm and calculated, trying to come off as if he were in a peaceful slumber; no nightmares, nothing to worry about. His younger brother stood in the doorway a moment longer before turning to leave the room, leaving the door open. Sans found that annoying but figured he should have expected. Papyrus would no doubt be listening for any sign that Sans was awake so they could talk. As soon as he was sure Papyrus was downstairs, Sans let his eyes slowly open. He felt more guilt for pretending to be asleep, but he simply couldn't handle talking about what had happened back there. He wasn't ready.

Quietly, he turned back onto his side and shut his eyes again, this time falling asleep for real.

 

Sans didn't own a working alarm clock, so there was no telling how long he'd slept. All he knew was that the smell of food had woken him up. However, after some of the sleep had worn off, he realized that it didn't smell like spaghetti at all. This was cause for investigation, so Sans rolled off of his mattress and remained wrapped in his blanket. Bedroom door still open, he trudged out of his room and down the stairs towards the kitchen. Smelled like burgers.

Upon entering the kitchen, he saw Papyrus sitting at the table and Grillby at the stove, one hand gripping the handle of a skillet while the other held onto a spatula. Both monsters turned their attention onto the shortest of the two. Ah.

“what're you doin' here?” That probably sounded a lot ruder that he intended.

Grillby stared at Sans for a moment before turning his attention back to the food. He flipped a patty. Sizzle. “Your brother and I are concerned about you. He invited me over to cook your favorite food.” Sans looked at Papyrus, who was too busy fiddling with a fork to look back. A pang of guilt surged through his chest. He made Papyrus worry about him, so much that he gave up his kitchen to someone else. Sans felt so small. He tugged on the blanket around him, wishing it'd eat him whole and put him out of his misery or something. “real nice of you guys to worry, but ya' don't gotta.”  
  
“I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU SO ANGRY BEFORE,” Papyrus almost interrupted, a small hint of irritation in his voice. Sans knew why. Papyrus didn't want to hear any bullshit right now. “I WISH YOU WOULD AT LEAST... TELL ME WHAT MADE YOU UPSET.”

All noise in the kitchen seemed to vanish at that, even the sizzling of the meat in the skillet. Grillby was looking at him from the corner of his eye, Sans could tell. They both wanted answers. He looked down at his feet for a moment before shuffling over to a chair and taking a seat at the table across from Papyrus. Stick to the plan.

“i was just embarrassed, heh.” It was so out of character for him. He wasn't sure they'd even buy it, now that he thought of it. Sans rubbed the back of his head. “it's just annoying when people try to force you into going out with someone, y'know?”

Papyrus seemed to think on it, looking back down and fidgeting with his fork. After a few seconds, he nodded. “I SUPPOSE I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT...” He didn't sound apprehensive and doubtful, more along the lines of guilty. Maybe he felt responsible since he didn't try to stop Frisk or Undyne. Sans almost frowned at that.

“wasn't your fault, paps.”

“I SUPPOSE. YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING, SANS!”

He grinned. “yeah, that was my biggest blunder to _date_ , huh?”

Papyrus squinted, then let out an annoyed huff. “WHATEVER,” was all he could manage. “YOUR PUNS ARE TERRIBLE. I WISH YOU'D GET A BETTER HOBBY! SOMETHING MORE PRODUCTIVE!”

“i dunno, bro. I got a pretty tight schedule.”

“UN. BELIEVABLE.”

Papyrus stood from the table and stomped around it, headed for the door. “GRILLBY, THANK YOU FOR COOKING MY LAZY BROTHER A MEAL.”

“It is... no problem, Papyrus.” Flip, sizzle.

“PLEASE MAKE SURE HE EATS EVERYTHING. HE SLEPT ALL DAY WITHOUT A SINGLE MEAL.” After an exchange of goodbyes, Papyrus left to go spend time with Undyne at Inn where she was temporarily staying while her house was rebuilt. Sans and Grillby were left alone.

Sans watched the bartender cook, slightly thrown off just by the mere sight of seeing someone else other than Papyrus cooking in their kitchen. There was a thick silence in the room, and it didn't settle well at all. Something seemed off. Grillby seemed upset, though Sans wasn't sure why. He cleared his throat. “sorry about all that. you don't gotta stay here if you don't wanna.” He was met with more silence.

Flip, sizzle.

Grillby moved the hamburger patty from the skillet and onto a bun. After squirting a generous amount of ketchup onto it, he placed on the top half of the bun and turned to practically drop the plate in front of Sans. It clattered obnoxiously, cutting through the tense silence around them. Grillby was angry. Sans looked up at his from under the safety of his blanket. No expression. The only sign of the other's anger was the occasional spark and crackle of his flames. He moved his gaze back down to the burger.

“...looks good.”

“Eat it.”

There was hesitation from Sans. More silence, thick enough to fill his skull and make his head feel heavy and tight. He almost didn't want to eat. He had no appetite, especially not now, but the last thing he wanted to do was piss off Grillby. The quiet types are often the most vicious if their line is crossed. He reached out for the burger and took hold of it. He lifted it to his mouth and took a fairly big bite out of it. He chewed slowly, Grillby watching the whole time. This continued until the burger was no more and Sans had finished it. Sans pushed the plate away from himself and sat with almost perfect posture for once, feeling as if every move he made was being analyzed by the elemental.

After more deafening silence, Grillby finally spoke up.

“That was a lie.”

Sans stiffened.

“I am not so foolish as to believe it, either. Your brother has not heard the things you say when you are drunk.”

“grillbz.” Sans's tone was almost threatening. He knew where this was going, and he wanted nothing to do with it. Not right now.

“Something else caused you to act that way, and I have a fairly decent idea as to _who_ it was.”

Sans said nothing to that. He merely sat still and hoped in vain that Grillby hadn't figured it all out. He heard the sound of wood scraping against linoleum, the other monster having pulled out a chair for himself to sit in. Grillby's eyes never left him, trying to will Sans to meet his gaze. The skeleton refused. “...I am merely going off of intuition, but is it,” the flame monster hesitated. “the human child?”

He must have said something that night in the bar when he was drunk. Well, he knew he said something, that was how this whole mess got started. He just didn't think it was enough to lead Grillby to the right conclusion. Sans was stalling at that point, mouth shut tight much to Grillby's dismay. It couldn't have been enough, especially considering the last time they had talked about it, the bartender assumed he was dating someone.

Unless Grillby was having deja vu about that night, and faintly remembered that Sans had said it was the human that was causing his distress.

Sans took a chance at looking up to study Grillby's face. “what makes you think that it's the kid?” Somehow this offended the other monster, he could tell. It was as if Grillby already knew everything for certain and Sans was purposely making him repeat facts. Exasperated, Grillby collapsed into the chair he'd pulled out for himself. He propped his forehead up against the palm of his hand.

“Intuition,” he repeated, then continued. “They looked at me after Undyne and Papyrus left for Snowdin, and I felt...” He struggled with the next word, simply because there was no word to describe all he felt in that moment. “I was uncomfortable,” he said, unsatisfied since it didn't cover the strange feeling of familiarity. The sense of panic or danger, but also fondness. There were hints of memorable sensations, but they just weren't strong enough to ring any bells. He lowered his hand to the table and turned his attention back to Sans.

“I notice how tense you are around them. You hide it well.”

I hate this, Sans thought to himself. He never wanted this to happen, and he resented the fact that Grillby could see past his facade. It scared him a bit, in all honesty. Only one other person was able to do that so well before. Sans had carefully constructed this protective wall around him, and to have someone else infiltrate it so easily made him feel weak. He laced his fingers over the table and grinned tiredly. How was he supposed to go about this? He could tell the truth and try to confide in Grillby once again. After all, this would ironically be a rare second chance, as if he already didn't have plenty second chances to go around, or he could feign ignorance and keep the whole “I was embarrassed” lie going. It was half-true, after all.

Sans sighed quietly, hoping Grillby didn't hear it.

“heh, well. I hate to say it, but you're way off.” Sans shrugged and leaned back, keeping the blanket wrapped around himself protectively. “not scared of the kid, they just annoy me. just didn't like bein' told to go out on---”

Grillby slammed his hand onto the table and stood abruptly, his chair skidding backward and tipping over, saved by the counter it now leaned on. The temperature rose a bit; Grillby was pissed. The flames were intense, crackling loudly and flickering in unpredictable patterns. Sans somehow managed not to look up during this, and he instead lowered his arms to his sides. His soul was fluttering. He felt like a scared rabbit. He knew Grillby wouldn't hurt him or demand a FIGHT, it's just that... He'd never seen Grillby angry before.

Seeing that Sans wasn't going to look up at him or speak, Grillby willed himself to calm down, just enough to keep his flames from burning the house down. He was at a loss for words. Sans was the last person he ever expected to get so infuriated with. “I do not appreciate being lied to when it comes to something so crucial.”

Sans said nothing, even though he knew well that in this situation, silence said everything.

It confirmed Grillby's theory. Validated it. Sans had no defense.

“Your HP has dropped to one. Your life is on the line, and yet you expect me to buy into some childish lie. What is Papyrus going to do if you---”  
  
“Get out.”

Grillby went tense at the dark tone. Sans still wasn't looking at him, but the white lights in his sockets were gone again. He slid his hand from the table, leaving behind a rather dark scorched hand print. He felt belittled to some degree, being told to leave when he was the one being lied to. His chest tightened. “Very well,” he said as he moved past the skeleton and toward the door. Just as he opened it, he spoke again. “You can try to strengthen your defenses, but you only want me to leave because you know I am right.”

Sans whirled around in his chair to scream or yell, one eye flaring cyan, but Grillby had already left.

He snapped back around and glared hard at the table, breathing labored from a chest tight with frustration. Grillby was right, as much as he didn't want him to be. It's not his place to bring up Papyrus, he thought to himself. It's not his place to bring up my HP, not his place to try and fix my problems. These are my problems, not his, not anybody's.

They're my problems. They're mine. Only mine.

Sans hunched forward and pulled the blanket over his head, face against the table.

He couldn't remember the last time he cried.

 


	9. Nine

After much deliberation, Sans decided that staying locked away in his room was the best and easiest option available to him. People were obviously free to visit, but he would just have to either pretend to be asleep or keep the visits brief. That especially went for Frisk, who was currently just outside his door. The knob turned and shook gently. Kid was trying to be subtle about breaking into his room, he assumed. Sans stared at the wall, blanket pulled over himself snugly.

Papyrus tucked him in earlier.

His little brother wouldn't have him staying at home all the time for no reason, so now he was faking sick. More lies that his little bro could have been spared from if only the human on the other side of his door would have stayed the course. Better yet, if they would just get sucked into the void and lose all of their SAVE/LOAD/RESET privileges. The room went silent, causing Sans to lean up slowly with just a tiny squeak from his old mattress. He stared the doorknob, which had gone still. No footsteps were heard, and he could still see shadows of Frisk's booted feet under the crack of the door. Just as slowly as he had gone up, he lowered himself back down and closed his sockets.

He took in a deep breath, then exhaled.

Bet they wish they had that key, he thought to himself. He'd given that out before when he was certain Frisk actually did have the ability to manipulate timelines. It'd been so long ago, or had it? He couldn't remember too well anymore. Their runs were blurring together. He'd have to check his logs down in the lab later, if he had the energy to. Finally, he heard footsteps. Frisk had walked away from his door and downstairs. Probably to go bug Paps, he thought. As if bro ain't got enough on his mind already.

Frisk was one puzzle he wasn't sure he could solve. They were an anomaly to him. Every other human that had fallen down before Frisk had some level of Determination, but not to this extent. The only human soul he hadn't had the chance to look at before leaving the CORE was the first. They all came in different colors. Different hues for different meanings, maybe. They all could persist after death, but they could never alter time. What makes Frisk so special, and how was he supposed to get the kid to stop?

Sans turned over and furrowed his brows.

In a way, he could understand. Before this nightmare began, there were plenty of times where he himself wished he could have gone back and changed something. Take back something that was said or do something differently. There were times where he had made Papyrus cry when they were younger. He wasn't proud of those moments and he'd probably give up an arm and a leg to change them. Simply convincing someone to give the ability to do so away was impossible. He realized that the first time Frisk had sliced him with the knife.

Sans's hand instinctively moved to his chest, pressed tight to his sternum. He hadn't been cut – yet – but he could still feel the pain. It was the only thing that still managed to shock him anymore. He always expected it, every fight. Every time the kid decided to go on a killing spree, he knew it was coming. That knife was going to take him down eventually, but for some reason, the pain was impossible not to react to. That, and seeing Papryus get cut down.

That was harder to stomach than being stabbed, no matter how much he tried to brace himself for it.

He heard his little brother laughing downstairs in the kitchen. Frisk must have given him a compliment on his cooking. Sans was almost jealous. Those were his compliments to give, not Frisk's. The kid didn't deserve them. Papyrus was nothing but entertainment for them. Poke and prod, see how it reacts. Say something nice, say something mean. Eat the spaghetti, spit it out. Give it a hug, slice its head off. These options meant nothing to them. They had no consequence.

They probably get some sick high off of it, he thought. Anger swelled inside of him. He might get sick after all. Probably brag about to themselves, seeing all the different things we'll say and do. We're just achievements to them, whether we live or die.

He flopped onto his back rather aggressively, the mattress beneath him creaking in protest. Grillby was one of the few monsters that managed to be spared in every timeline. He always managed to get out of Snowdin in time, make it to Hotland, and evacuate with the rest of the monsters there thanks to Alphys. Grillby just didn't have it in him to fight, he guessed. Sans wasn't much of a fighter, either. He hated it, and tried to avoid it. Sans wondered if Grillby would ever fight back against the human if he knew what all they had done.

It wasn't something he wanted to see. He didn't want Grillby to be pushed to that level of pain. However, at the same time, it would be pretty sweet to see the kid engulfed in fire.

“heh,” he mumbled to himself quietly, sure no one else could hear him. “on days like these, kids like you,” he paused, taking a moment to imagine Grillby lighting them up like a bonfire. “ **should be** **burning in hell.** heh.” Ahh, it would make the line so much cooler. Sans didn't bother taking any time to think about whether or not that was a sick thought to have, mostly because he remembered his and Grillby's argument. Sans visibly deflated, sinking further into the mattress. He used to solve all kinds of mathematical and scientific equations when he was a scientist, but this was something he just didn't know how to fix. A simple, heartfelt apology would probably do the trick. After all, Grillby was even-tempered and forgiving. However, he really tested the monster's limits that day, and seeing as how Frisk hadn't even stepped foot in Alphys's lab yet, it was pretty clear that they were too invested in this timeline to just finish their run and reset everything.

The guilt was weighing down on him pretty bad. He felt real, for lack of a better word, crappy. Sans flipped over onto his stomach, blanket now beneath him. He pushed his face into his pillow and slumped.

He'd have to sneak out tonight.

 

After Frisk had gone to the Inn and Papyrus had gone to bed, Sans managed to pull himself up out of bed to get dressed. He pulled on his sneakers instead of his slippers, though he wasn't too sure why. It wasn't like he'd be walking to Grillby's. After patting at one of his pockets to make sure he had everything, he teleported out of his room and right to Grillby's door, at the very top of the stairs behind the restaurant. It felt surreal, almost as if it'd been a whole year since he'd stood there. He'd already forgotten what the inside of Grillby's actual home looked like.

For some reason, he felt that hesitation was no longer a luxury he could afford, so he swiftly lifted his fist and knocked three times on the door, loud enough for the monster inside to hear. Just as quickly, his hand shot back to his pocket defensively. There was shuffling inside. He hadn't realized the television was on until he heard it shut off. Everything went quiet for a few seconds; Grillby probably didn't get many visitors, especially so late at night. Sans had a brief moment to panic when he heard the man stepping closer to the door. The door unlocked and opened, revealing the flaming bartender in nothing but a pair of slacks and a t-shirt. No glasses.

Weird.

Sans looked away, feeling a bit of tension between the two them. Grillby wasn't sure how to react, though it seemed like he wanted to close the door. Not out of anger, but because someone had seen him in his sleepwear, and that someone just had to be Sans.

“sorry for buggin' you so late.”

Grillby frowned. Sans sounded unsure of himself. He probably wanted to turn around and head back home already. He couldn't blame him. They'd argued about something personal, and it wasn't like Grillby had made an attempt to apologize.

“I am not angry with you.”

Sans looked up, sockets widened just a tad. Grillby's brows curved down, showing his concern. “I was frustrated. I should not have tried to force you to open up.” A slightly more comfortable silence settled between the two of them, though Sans looked back down to his feet. Grillby couldn't read his expression, but his usual grin wasn't as prominent as usual. It threatened to sink into a frown, and Grillby couldn't tell if that was better or worse than a fake smile. It wasn't until a cold gust of air swept of them and made Sans's shoulders hunch up that Grillby realize the shorter skeleton was outside. He stepped aside and held the door open for his friend.

“Come in.”

Sans was rather quick to enter the monster's home, eager for the warmth. Grillby smiled a tad at the other's celerity and shut the door.

If it was one thing Sans remembered about this place, it was the warmth. Somehow different from the pub's, and probably because it was all just Grillby. Sans had wanted to take a seat on the comfortable looking couch in the living area, but decided to sit across from Grillby at the table. It seemed the elemental was just as desperate to apologize as Sans.

Yet, they said nothing.

They both merely sat there, Sans's feet dangling just over the floor. Grillby's hands sat folded over one another on the table. Both stared at the wooden surface, sure of what to say but uncertain of how to put it and who should go first. Sans decided since he was the one that came over, he'd go first. He reached out for something to fidget with while he spoke, figuring it'd help him get the words out. He'd grabbed a cloth napkin from the middle of the table and started to fold and pinch the fabric.

“i'm sorry for actin' like a jerk,” he started. Already it didn't sound right. He sighed. “it's pretty ironic: i lied and said i didn't wanna be apart of some middle school junk and ended up actin' like a pissy teenager, anyway.” That sounded more like what he wanted to go for. It was true in his mind, at least. He was ashamed. Grillby seemed to want to say something, but Sans continued before he had the chance. “this run's been tough, is all.”

Grillby squinted his eyes at that. Run? Sans didn't seem to regret or think over what he just said. The bartender felt a little bit closer to solving the problem from that alone. He looked down to watch the skeleton's hands fiddle with the napkin. He'd wrinkled it something fierce already, but it wasn't like Grillby cared too much.

“I should not have tried to force anything out of you,” he said simply. Sans relaxed, though he seemed a bit unhappy with that statement. He still felt guilty. Grillby laced his fingers under his chin. “I am just worried, Sans--”

“i know, that's why it was pretty dumb of me to act like that.”

“You were defensive. I didn't appreciate it,” he paused, seeing Sans's grip on the napkin tighten subtly. “but I shouldn't have gotten angry at you just because you didn't react the way I wanted you to.”

Sans relaxed in his seat once again, busy hands finally calming to give the poor napkin a break. He'd wanted to deny it for some reason, to insist and tell Grillby he was completely at fault, but he figured that would either lead to another argument and/or drag this out longer than it needed to be. Grillby wasn't mad, Sans wasn't mad. There was no point in sitting on it any longer. So, he nodded his head.

“I forgive you. Do you forgive me?”

Sans scoffed.

“heh, well. if I don't, you might not let me keep usin' my tab, so. yeah, I forgive you.”

“How endearing,” Grillby said sarcastically, despite his joy with the outcome. He'd felt terrible, as if he'd just contributed in Sans's declining health. However, this experience seems to have proven that Sans had faith in him, and didn't want to push him away. It was a huge relief, and his soul felt a bit lighter at the realization. Sans was such an anomaly to him now, but the argument seemed to have brought them a bit closer to the middle ground.

Grillby reached out and took the napkin from Sans's hands. He folded it neatly despite the wrinkles and placed it back in the middle of the table with the rest of them. “I'm... happy you came over to talk about it.”

Sans blinked, watching the flame's movements.

“I wasn't sure what to do. I suppose I didn't think you had anything to hide, and I crossed a line I didn't know was there.” Grillby laced his fingers under his chin again, looking more contemplative. “I didn't want to make it worse by coming around if I wasn't wanted.”

This was a bit dizzying for Sans. When was the last time he had such a serious conversation that wasn't perfectly rehearsed and recited? He felt like he should have been searching his memory for previously used dialogue, but there was, of course, nothing to use for this. It was new and unexplored. Sans felt his soul thump with nervous excitement. He' already forgotten why this was so unsafe: he wanted something new so badly, something that made him feel like his life wasn't totally worthless and scripted. It was addicting, and like most addictions, it was dangerous.

Sans drew in a deep breath, trying to settle down.

“you've never made anything worse for me.”

The statement sounded so sincere and sure of itself that Grillby couldn't help but smile. The two sat there together in an intoxicating silence, the only sound coming from the occasional gust outside and the soft ticking of a clock somewhere in the room. Both were unsure of what the other was thinking, but they both seemed to know that they were good thoughts, so they didn't bother asking. It was a very welcome sense of peace and understanding that Sans was more than grateful to have and share.

The only things he'd bothered to write in his logs about this run were Frisk's actions, but this was something he'd have to write down and describe in full detail. He never wanted to forget it.

While Sans was unaware of the genuine smile on his face, Grillby took notice. The bartender reached across the table to put his hand over the skeleton's own, which earned a surprised look from the shorter monster. “That smile suits you much better than the others.”

Oh.

Sans jerked his hand back and scoffed, trying to ignore the heat he felt on his cheekbones. “sheesh, didn't think you were such a dork, grillbz.” That didn't get rid of the blush, or the smile on Grillby's face. Sans scoffed yet again, then slipped down from the chair. “and I thought you were cool. what a let-down.”  
  
“Well, I am made of fire. I suppose being cool would be difficult for me.”

“that's-- you're--”

He was stuttering. What a mess. He felt like an old computer that was about to crash and fall apart. “that's too literal, heh. dork. I'm goin' home.” He whirled around and shuffled towards the door, fumbling with the knob and actually pulling the first time before he finally regained some intelligence and pushed it open. Grillby's smile grew fonder by the second. “later, grillbz.”

“Goodnight, Sans.”

Sans quickly stepped outside, shut the door, and teleported back to his room. Grillby shook his head and turned his attention back to the wrinkled napkin on the table. A large part of Grillby wished Sans would have stayed.

 


End file.
